Tasty Food in Foil #1 . . . Foiled Pot Roast

At this point in my life, I have . . . like many of us of a certain age . . . quite a little cache of dependable recipes.

This can be good. I have go-toes. (Tos? Toes? Toos? Tooes!)

These are recipes I can pull off with very little effort or thought, yet they’re tasty and nutritious.

This can be bad. Eating will get boring.

Therefore, I read food sites and love to buy cookbooks. We moved last year. I gave away dozens of cookbooks, keeping only those I cherished or used.

(Then, I bought more.)

I began this blog thinking of some of those recipes I loved and planned to share them with you. Barefoot’s Chicken Enchiladasis one of my favorite. I’ve made this so many times I could do it asleep. Yet, just the other day, I made it better. Click above and check it out.

BUT!!

That isn’t what today is about. I want to tell you about cooking in foil. I used to do this a lot when the kids were little. It’s easy, quick cleanup, and tasty. Whether you’re a kid or an adult.

You may have heard of cooking en papillote. It’s French for cooking in paper. Very chic. If you’re from the south, you’d use a paper sack from the local Piggly Wiggly. In France, parchment paper. But you may not have parchment on hand. We all have foil. Heavy duty is best. If you don’t have heavy duty, just double layer regular foil and be more careful when you handle it.

I try to look at most recipes from a fundamental point of view. What are its parts? Learn what makes it work. Adapt those principles to other ingredients. That will work here, too.

This recipe has 5 parts: fat, meat, seasoning, veggie, and liquid. Wrapped in foil, baked in the oven. Served with a starch (or not).

This one is pot roast in foil. Barefoot’s Foiled Pot Roast.

The meat is left over from last night, so this is what I made today:

Barefoot’s Foiled Pot Roast

Preheat oven to 400o.

Lay out your foil (heavy duty) on a smooth surface.

FAT:Pam & Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Spray with Pam and drizzle with EVOO. Sprinkle a little salt.

MEAT: Sirloin

Center a layer of sirloin that’s been thinly sliced or cut into cubes. (Partially frozen meat is easier to slice.)

SEASONING:Oregano, salt, pepper, rosemary

Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon each of dried oregano and rosemary. If you have an herb garden, clip a couple of sprigs of each and lay on top of meat. This is pot roast, a savory dish. Choose your seasonings accordingly. I’d add cilantro and cumin for a southwestern taste; oyster sauce and hoisin sauce for an Asian flavor. But for today, this is American-style pot roast.

VEGGIE:Carrots, potatoes, etc.

Top with 1/2″ pieces of carrots, potato, and green beans.

LIQUID:Wine & stock/gravy

Add a little Cabernet. You don’t have to add any stock or gravy, but I freeze left-over gravy in ice cube trays. I’ll add a cube of gravy to enrich the broth.

Now, close it up. Fold up the long ends and roll to seal. Press down and roll sides toward ingredients to seal. You should have a nice little packet.

Place on cookie sheet (It may or may not leak.) and bake 45-60 minutes. Check after 40 minutes.

And this is what you end up with:

Serve over rice or a potato. Or nothing else. This has potatoes in it, so it’s a complete meal as it is. Which is perfect after a busy day. Pop this in the oven and go take a bath. Eat it while you’re piled up on the sofa with a glass of Cabernet or Malbec watching the Walking Dead.

I have a few others coming soon. All in foil. All deliciously easy with little clean up.

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Just so you know . . .

Occasionally, I'll provide a link to where you can find something discussed in a post. If something's good, you may want it as well, and knowing where you can find it should be easy. Those links may or may not provide compensation back to me... most don't. But, I felt you should know.